Fiend Without a Face [Criterion Collection]

Director: Arthur Crabtree, Marshall Thompson Arthur Crabtree

Overview

The disc for this fast-paced B-film is full of excellent features. The transfer itself is presented in widescreen (anamorphic) with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The sound is in Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono) and English subtitles are available. There are some minor signs of age, but basically this is a great print with very good contrast. A commentary track is available, which features an interview by Tom Weaver with the executive producer Richard Gordon. Though not screen-specific, they both cover numerous topics including how the original story was financed and the history of the production company that made the film. Gordon can be a little dry at times, but this track is very detailed and informative. From the animated main menu there are several excellent supplements to choose from. The "Mad Science Spawns Evil Fiends" section features "Exploited!" -- a slide show of promo stills and ads with commentary by Weaver and Gordon and "It Came From...," an illustrated essay on U.K. horror/science fiction written by Bruce Eder. There are also eight lobby cards for the film. The last feature is a section containing trailers for Fiend Without a Face, The Haunted Strangler, Corridors of Blood, First Man into Space, and The Atomic Submarine. This is an excellent package from The Criterion Collection.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2010
UPC:	0715515011327
Original Release:	1958
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:14:00
Sales rank:	13,518

Special Features

Enhanced for 16x9 TVs, with audio commentary by executive producer Richard Gordon and genre film writer Tom Weaver, an illustrated essay on British sci-fi/horror by film historian Bruce Eder, trailers, stills, and vintage advertisements.

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marshall Thompson	Maj. Cummings
Terence Kilburn	Capt. Al Chester,Capt. Chester
Kim Parker	Barbara Griselle
Michael Balfour	Sgt. Kasper
Gilbert Winfield	Dr. Warren
Shane Cordell	Nurse
Stanley Maxted	Col. Butler
James Dyrenforth	Mayor Hawkins
Kerrigan Prescott	Atomic Engineer
Kynaston Reeves	Prof. Walgate
Peter Madden	Dr. Bradley
R. Meadows White	Ben Adams
Lala Loyd	Amelia Adams
Robert Mackenzie	Gibbons
Launce Maraschal	Melville
Gil Winfield	Dr. Warren
Buxton Orr	Composer

Technical Credits

Herbert Leder

Arthur Crabtree	Director
John Croydon	Producer
Peter Nielsen	Special Effects
Peter Neilson	Special Effects
Puppel Nordhoff	Special Effects
Herbert Leder	Screenwriter
Marshall Thompson	Director

Scene Index

Chapters
0. Chapters
1. Prologue/Opening titles [3:46]
2. "We're all human here" [6:24]
3. Test Baker [5:09]
4. Two Deaths and a funeral [2:16]
5. Mental vampire [3:05]
6. Enough damage for one day [4:27]
7. Invisible predator [4:47]
8. Nothing supernatural [5:35]
9. Manhunt [6:49]
10. Cemetery [5:50]
11. Crisis at the plant [4:46]
12. To free thought [6:34]
13. Invisible no more! [7:46]
14. To kill a fiend [4:53]
15. Situation well in hand [1:55]

Menu

Main
Play The Movie
   Menu Group #1 with 16 chapter(s) covering 01:14:10
Commentary
"mad Science Spawns Evil Fiends!"
   Exploitation!
   "It Came From..."
   Trailers
      Fiend without a Face
      The Haunted Strangler
      Corridors of Blood
      First Man into Space
      The Atomic Submarine
   Lobby Cards
   Vintage Ads

Editorial Reviews

Fiend Without A Face is about as neat and compact a sci-fi chiller as was released in England in the 1950s -- indeed, it is the only real challenger to the primacy of Val Guest's two masterpieces of the genre, The Quatermass Experiment (1955) and Quatermass 2 (1956). Director Arthur Crabtree, a cinematopher-turned-director, demonstrated a good command of his actors -- mostly just getting out of the way and letting them run with the script -- and a knack for intermixing the drama and the special effects, the latter courtesy of Peter Neilson and Puppel Nordhoff. Coupled with a dedicated cast led by Marshall Thompson, who could play the material in the most earnest manner possible, the result is a truly chilling mystery/chiller. One of the novel twists of the story is an explanation for the killings that manages to put a grisly twist on Forbidden Planet's notion of monsters driven by man's own subconscious urges and destructiveness -- that, and the graphic realization of those ideas on camera, plus a final siege that recalls elements of Night Of The Living Dead, have helped to make Fiend Without A Face an enduring classic of its genre and, much like the Quatermass movies, one that continually gains new fans.

All Movie Guide - Bruce Eder